Kate Payne

As a Tallahassee native, Kate Payne grew up listening to WFSU. She loves being part of a station that had such an impact on her. Kate is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts. With a background in documentary and narrative filmmaking, Kate has a broad range of multimedia experience. When she’s not working, you can find her rock climbing, cooking or hanging out with her cat.

An effort to allow liquor sales in grocery stores cleared its first committee Thursday. Lawmakers are one step closer to tearing down the wall that separates liquor stores from other retailers. For many Florida shops, that’s a literal wall, because of a Prohibition-era law that prevents grocers from selling liquor alongside beer and wine.

In 2011, Florida made sweeping changes to the laws regulating new development. Now legislators are re-examining how the state is juggling the needs of a growing population. At the time, lawmakers characterized state oversight of development as bad for business, and said rolling back the regulations would boost job creation. Cutting growth management was also a campaign push for then candidate Rick Scott.

Some Florida environmental activists are hoping to channel public interest from one pipeline to another, by organizing a series of protests across the state. This year Native American leaders, activists and celebrities staged a months-long protest at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline, spurring the Obama Administration to ultimately halt the project. Some Florida environmentalists are taking inspiration from the Dakota Access protests in their own fight against the Sabal Trail Pipeline.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are granting a team of Florida researchers $10 million to research Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases. University of Florida scientists will lead the regional research center, in collaboration with teams from the University of Miami, Florida International University, and the University of South Florida.

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows Florida’s gun homicide rates have increased dramatically under Stand Your Ground. In light of the new findings, WFSU checks in with critics and supporters of the controversial legislation.

Seventy-seven percent of Florida voters support medical marijuana, according to a new survey of likely voters. The University of North Florida poll shows broad support for expanding access to the drug, which is currently available to people with certain chronic illnesses. UNF pollster Michael Binder says the results bode well for proponents of Constitutional Amendment 2, who need the support of 60% of voters in order to pass the measure.

State Republican Senator Jack Latvala is fighting the expansion of medical marijuana in the state. Florida voters will decide whether to kickstart the state’s fledging pot industry at the ballot box in November.